Ministry to unearth remains of independence fighter
By Jun Ji-hye
Park Sung-choon
The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs will launch a project to unearth the remains of South Korean independence fighter Ahn Joong-keun who is believed to be buried on Chinese soil.
The project is part of efforts to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule, the ministry said in a statement, Monday.
Ahn, who fought for the nation’s independence, assassinated Korea’s first Japanese governor-general Hirobumi Ito in the Chinese city of Harbin in October 1909, and was executed at a Japanese prison in China the following year.
“There has been a possibility that Ahn might have been buried in the cemetery of a prison in Lushun, China, where he was executed,” said a ministry official. “The ministry has asked China to allow us to conduct ground penetrating radar (GPR) exploration.”
He noted that the ministry was not able to carry out proper exploration as Lushun Prison and the surrounding area has been designated as a military district or cultural heritage protection area.
Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister Park Sung-choon reported the ministry’s plans to President Park Geun-hye, Monday.
“We are also planning to push for remodeling the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea building, which was built in Shanghai,” he said.
The provisional government was born out of the March First Independence Movement led in 1919 by Yu Gwan-sun and seeking a restoration of Korean sovereignty during Japanese colonial rule. However, the building that housed it has been at risk of being shut down due to a decreasing number of visitors.
The ministry’s other plans include increasing compensation for national meritorious persons by 3.5 percent.
It will also raise the honorable allowance for war veterans to a monthly 180,000 won ($165) from 170,000 won. In an effort to enhance medical support for them, it will begin construction of a veterans’ hospital in Incheon this year to be completed by 2017.
Minister Park also vowed to launch a project to raise public awareness of those who died protecting the nation. Part of the project will include building memorial facilities or stone monuments in each region.
“We will help people recall their pride and respect for the fallen heroes during their daily life,” he said.
The ministry’s project was included in the comprehensive vision, jointly prepared by the national defense, foreign affairs, and unification ministries for unification between the two Koreas, one of the main programs of the President Park Geun-hye administration.
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